Woman charged in abuse case at Southington group home

SOUTHINGTON - A Waterbury woman has been accused of abusing a disabled woman while working at a Southington group home.

Carrie Abdur-Rashid, 55, allegedly sprayed the woman in the face with a garden hose as a form of discipline on May 5, according to the arrest warrant in the case. She faces one count of intentional cruelty to persons - a felony.

According to the warrant, a Clark Street resident called police on May 5, at about 2:30 p.m., to report a possible abuse situation. She said she heard yelling and screaming coming from a nearby group home. The complainant, according to the warrant, then looked outside and heard one of two staff members, later identified as Abdur-Rashid, yelling things like “Do you want me to push you to the ground?” and “Do you want me to push you in the bushes?” She said she was yelling to one of the group home residents, who is intellectually disabled.

After the two staff members and the resident walked around the group home, the neighbor told police, Abdur-Rashid allegedly picked up a garden hose and began spraying water in the face of the disabled woman. She also allegedly used vulgar language.

The complainant told police it did not look like they were just having fun, and that it appeared abusive, according to the warrant.

Police responded to the home and spoke to two staff members who were not involved, as the other two had already left for the day. Officers viewed the behavioral incident log and found an entry that said the victim had gotten upset about another resident leaving the home, so she ran outside and began using cuss words and threatening the staff, the warrant said.

The log also said staff members, who had talked to the victim earlier in the day about having a water fight, then had fun chasing each other with the hose. The victim, the log said, was initially laughing when she was sprayed but then began crying out, according to the warrant.

Abdur-Rashid came back to the group home to speak with police, and she corroborated what the log entry said.

The victim told police she believed Abdur-Rashid sprayed her in the face because she was mad at her, according to the warrant.

Police also spoke to the other staff member who was present, who said she did not hear any threats about the victim being pushed or any profanity. She also said the water fight lasted about five minutes and that once the victim began crying, Abdur-Rashid stopped spraying her, according to the warrant.

The complainant showed police cell phone video of the incident, which allegedly showed Abdur-Rashid spray the victim in the face at least twice with the garden hose, the warrant said. Because of the time lapse in the video, police said, officers were not able to determine how long the incident lasted.

According to the warrant, the group home is managed by PrimeCare Inc. - based in Waterbury - and receives funding from the state’s Department of Developmental Services. PrimeCare did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Abdur-Rashid, who is free on a $5,000 non-surety bond, is scheduled to be arraigned in Bristol Superior Court on Monday.

Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com.